Conrad Dobler, Once Known as ‘Dirtiest Player’ in NFL, Dies at 72

The former right guard played 10 seasons in the NFL.

Conrad Dobler, a former 10-year offensive lineman in the NFL, died on Monday at the age of 72. Dobler played most of his career with the then-St. Louis Cardinals, making three Pro Bowls and a second team All-Pro with the team, along with stints with the Saints and Bills.

“He was the kind of tough, physical and fierce player that you love to line up with as a teammate and hate to line up against as an opponent,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell said in a statement. “On the field, Conrad was a big reason for the success of the Cardiac Cards of the 1970s.”

Our hearts go out to the family, friends and former teammates of Conrad Dobler. pic.twitter.com/yzO57UzHls

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) February 13, 2023

In 1977, coming off a third-straight Pro Bowl season, Sports Illustrated labeled Dobler as the “dirtiest player” in the league thanks to the lengths he would go to block defensive lineman.

“I’ll do anything I can get away with to protect my quarterback,” he said in the story.

Dobler further explained that he would improvise ways to block, so much so that he couldn’t attempt to repeat some of his decisions.

“Sometimes I can’t believe what I do, that I can fling my body around the way I do,” he said. “Those things happen at the time. I couldn’t repeat any one of them.”

Dobler played in 80 games for the Cardinals, starting 77, and was a key part of the team that won double-digit games for three consecutive seasons in the 1970s. In total, he 129 NFL games, primarily at right guard.